Teodosic, Kaun lift CSKA over Nizhny in OT

In a high-scoring all-Russian showdown in Top 16 Group F, CSKA Moscow grabbed its 15th consecutive win in the 2014-15 Turkish Airlines Euroleague - and 30th counting other competitions - by downing Nizhny Novgorod 103-95 at home on Thursday. CSKA improved to 5-0 in Group F, while Nizhny dropped to 2-3. Milos Teodosic led the winners with 25 points. Andrey Vorontsevich added 22, Aaron Jackson had 15 and 6 assists, Nando De Colo scored 13 points, while Sasha Kaun contributed 11 for CSKA. Trey Thompkins and Taylor Rochestie led Nizhny with 22 points apiece. Terence Kinsey added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Art Parakhouski scored 18 points for the guests. De Colo shined early and a three-pointer by Vorontsevich put the hosts up 15-8. Kinsey and Evgeny Baburin rescued Nizhny, but a three-pointer by Demetris Nichols gave the hosts a 24-19 margin after 10 minutes. Teodosic and Kaun soon boosted CSKA's lead to 37-29, but Thompkins and an outstanding Rochestie helped Nizhny tie it at 40-40. Free throws by Manuchar Markoishvili fixed the halftime score at 42-40. Thompkins took over after the break and a jumper by Kinsey gave the guests a 50-52 edge. Back-to-back triples by Rochestie boosted Nizhny's lead to 53-58, but a 13-2 run that Vorontsevich capped with a jumper gave CSKA a 69-62 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Nizhny rallied and a big basket by Kinsey made it a 3-point game in the next-to-last minute. Rochestie hit 4 free throws in crunch time to send the game to overtime at 88-88. However Teodosic and Kaun took over in the extra period and a layup by Vorontsevich sealed the outcome.

First quarter: De Col-oh!

Kaun got CSKA going with a reverse layup and De Colo banked in a driving shot for a 4-0 lead. Semen Antonov fed fParakhouski for a layup, which De Colo erased with a close jumper. Parakhouksi kept pacing Nizhny with a jump hook. Vitaly Fridzon sank a mid-range jumper and a layup by Thompkins kept the guests within 8-6. De Colo scored again and erased Kinsey's mid-range jumper with an off-balance driving layup. A three-pointer by Vorontsevich caused Nizhny to call timeout at 15-8. After Kinsey sank a turnaround jumper, De Colo sent a between-the-legs assist to Kaun for a slam. A big basket by Rochestie and a wild basket by Jackson gave CSKA a 19-12 lead. Parakhouski stepped up with back-to-back baskets, but Vorontsevich beat the shot clock with a floater. Evgeny Baburin struck from downtown only for a buzzer-beating triple by Demetris Nichols to restore a 24-19 CSKA lead after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Nizhny battles back

Kinsey added a stop-and-pop jumper for Nizhny early in the quarter. Jackson beat the shot clock buzzer with a driving basket, which Teodosic followed with a three-pointer for a 29-21 CSKA lead. Baburin struck twice from downtown, but Nichols also hit one from beyond the arc to give the hosts a 32-27 margin. Teodosic buried another one from downtown. Rochestie made free throws and Kaun gave his team a 37-29 lead. Thompkins drew a foul and hit free throws and Kinsey added a mid-range jumper, but Teodosic and a Kaun kept CSKA way ahead, 40-33. Rochestie fed Thompkins for a three-pointer, as CSKA tried a tall lineup with Vorontsevich, Nichols and Kaun together on court. Rochestie took over with a huge driving layup, which Thompkins followed with a layup to tie it at 40-40. Manuchar Markoishvili made free throws to put CSKA back ahead, 42-40, at halftime.

Third quarter: A rain of three-pointers!

A three-pointer by Thompkins completed Nizhny's comeback, 42-43, right after the break. Teodosic answered from downtown but a jumper by Ivan Savelyev tied it at 45-45. Teodosic kept trying to change things with free throws and Vorontsevich soon gave CSKA a 50-45 edge. Thompkins finished a great Nizhny offense with great ball movement with an open three-pointer, which Savelyev followed with a layup that tied it at 50-50. Kinsey nailed a four-meter jumper to give Nizhny the lead, 50-52. De Colo hit a technical free throw and added a driving layup, but Rochestie struck twice from downtown to make it 53-58. Vorontsevich answered with his own three-pointer and Jackson copied him to put CSKA back ahead, 59-58. Kinsey took over with an off-balance layup, but Jackson did better with another three-pointer and free throws for a 64-60 CSKA lead. Vorontsevich and Parakhouski exchanged baskets and a three-pointer by Fridzon gave CSKA fresh air, 69-62.

Fourth quarter:

Thompkins shined with a put-back basket early in the quarter. Kyle Hines - who had missed 4 free throws attempts earlier - sank foul shots and Fridzon soon gave the hosts a 9-point lead. Thompkins buried a huge three-pointer off the dribble, but Vorontsevich answered from downtown for a 76-67 CSKA lead with over six minutes left. Rochestie found Parakhouski for a layup, which Teodosic bettered with a triple. Parakhouski hit a turnaround jumper and Kinsey gave Nizhny hope at 79-72. Teodosic hit a mid-range jumper and an off-balance basket by Vorontsevich forced the guests to call timeout at 73-62. Rochestie took over with a big three-point play that Vorontsevich erased with a triple. Thompkins dunked and a jumper by Kinsey kept Nizhny within 86-80 with three minutes left. Antonov split free throws and a wild basket by Kinsey made it a 3-point game. CSKA did not score on a four-chance offense and Nizhny got the ball back with 22.7 seconds left. Kinsey, De Colo and Teodosic split free throws and Rochestie hit 4-of-4 attempts for an 88-88 tie with 3.2 seconds to go. CSKA called timeout but, Kaun missed down low at the buzzer.

Overtime: CSKA takes over in crunch time

Rochestie found Parakhouski for a backdoor layup and an 88-90 Nizhny lead. Teodosic sank a mid-range jumper, which Rochestie bettered with a three-pointer to restore a 90-93 Nizhny edge. Teodosic answered from downtown and soon added free throws to give CSKA a 95-93 edge. Parakhouski took over with a put-back slam. Kaun split free throws and added a dunk before a foul shot by Jackson sealed the outcome, 99-95. A Jackson steal and layup by Vorontsevich allowed CSKA to celebrate a hard-fought win in one of the best games of this Turkish Airlines Euroleague season!

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

CSKA Moscow

"We got another win and we expected this game to be difficult. We are not in our best moment, under stress with minor injuries and absences. Still we work hard, stay professional and, as you see, we keep winning. I said in the locker room after the game that I am proud of the team’s effort. We have to walk through this hard period, do some treatment, recover, sleep well, eat well. Nizhny had momentum in this game. They were coming to Moscow considered the underdogs, but we know they are a good team with good players like Rochestie, Kinsey, Parakhouski, Thompkins. We focused on stopping Rochestie and tried not to forget about their secondary creators like Antonov and Khvostov, who are also good players, but they played poor games tonight. We were up by 11 with 4:51 to go, but Nizhny went on to score 6 quick points and returned to the game. Even though we weren’t at our best we still found the ways to win. Congratulations to the team and thank you to the fans who supported us really well."

BAGATSKIS, AINARS

Nizhny Novgorod

"We started really bad despite scoring well and finding good shots for ourselves. Still our defense was awful. We allowed CSKA to score 8 easy baskets in the very beginning, showing overconfidence and too much respect to the opponents. We did not foul until the seventh minute. And even playing like this we stayed in the game and when we started to play like we planned, the game was even. We did not allow CSKA players to have open shots; we tried to stop De Colo and Teodosic who can kill you if you give them freedom. But in the end these players decided the outcome. I said to my team that this was the game of open chances and we did not take ours, did not work hard enough in some moments, did not raise the hand on the shot, weren’t patient enough sometimes. But in our previous encounter in the VTB League we stayed in the game for 20 minutes, this time we fought for 40 minutes. We’ll continue to work and we promise not to put our hands down."

Players

DE COLO, NANDO

CSKA Moscow

"It was a tough game, we knew that Nizhny is a very good team. They showed that they can play really good basketball. They did it in the passing game and it was very difficult. We played 45 minutes till the end and this is the most important. I think nobody expected a game like this. Nizhny was confident and knew how to play together, especially on defense. But today we were focused on our game. "

PARAKHOUSKI, ARTSIOM

Nizhny Novgorod

"Today we had a great game. Three days ago in Minsk we were not good enough. We knew that coming here we needed to expect a difficult game, because CSKA has not lost this season at all. We were calm and confident. Maybe today we had a lack of concentration, some defensive mistakes and missed some shots. CSKA gave us a chance to play in overtime, unfortunately we did not do our best to win today."